Information processing apparatus

ABSTRACT

An information processing apparatus receives a request using unique second identification information that is associated one-to-one with first identification information for identifying a user of a resource and returns third identification information to be used temporarily indicating a transfer destination of the request, in response to the request.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is based on and claims priority pursuant to 35U.S.C. § 119(a) to Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-025507, filed onFeb. 15, 2019, in the Japan Patent Office, the entire disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus.

Discussion of the Background Art A guest account (an example of firstidentification information) is used to allow a guest user to use networkresources (for example, printers) in a restricted intranet environmentusing user's own computer. By limiting the network resources that can beused by the guest account, it is possible to allow the guest user to usethe network resources while ensuring the security in the intranet.

The guest user can also access the target network resource withoutinstalling a driver on the user's computer, by accessing a uniformresource locator (URL) that provides a web user interface (UI)corresponding to the target network resource from a web browser.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure describe an information processingapparatus. The information processing apparatus receives a request usingunique second identification information that is associated one-to-onewith first identification information for identifying a user of aresource and returns third identification information to be usedtemporarily indicating a transfer destination of the request, inresponse to the request.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the embodiments and many of theattendant advantages and features thereof can be readily obtained andunderstood from the following detailed description with reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an informationprocessing system according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a hardware configuration of a liquid dischargingdevice (inkjet printer) according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a hardware configuration of a personal computer(PC) (server) according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a hardware configuration of a multifunctionperipheral (MFP) according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of aprint server according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating a basic redirect processexecuted by the information processing system;

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a process whenan invalid temporary URL is accessed;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a series of processesexecuted by the print server related to URL determination; and

FIGS. 9A to 9C are flowcharts illustrating an example of temporary URLdeletion process (or update process).

The accompanying drawings are intended to depict embodiments of thepresent disclosure and should not be interpreted to limit the scopethereof. The accompanying drawings are not to be considered as drawn toscale unless explicitly noted. Also, identical or similar referencenumerals designate identical or similar components throughout theseveral views.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In describing embodiments illustrated in the drawings, specificterminology is employed for the sake of clarity. However, the disclosureof this specification is not intended to be limited to the specificterminology so selected and it is to be understood that each specificelement includes all technical equivalents that have a similar function,operate in a similar manner, and achieve a similar result. As usedherein, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” are intended to includethe plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise.

Hereinafter, the present disclosure is described in detail withreference to embodiments illustrated in the drawings. The components,types, combinations, shapes, relative arrangements, and the likedescribed in the embodiments are merely illustrative examples and notintended to limit the scope of the present disclosure unless otherwiseindicated.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an informationprocessing system according to the present embodiment.

The information processing system 1 has a configuration in which a firstnetwork environment 101 and a second network environment 102 areconnected through a communication network 100.

The first network environment 101 is based on, for example, an intranet,and includes a liquid discharging device (inkjet printer) 3 and an MFP 9as network resources. The liquid discharging device 3 is an imageprocessing device having an image printing function. The MFP 9 is animage processing device having a plurality of image forming functionssuch as print, copy, scan, and facsimile. The liquid discharging device3 and the MFP 9 are examples of job processing devices that execute andprocess a print job.

The second network environment 102 is, for example, a “bring your owndevice (BYOD)” network environment, and includes a print server 5A, aninformation processing terminal 5B, and an access point 6.

The print server 5A restricts the connection path of the informationprocessing terminal 5B. That is, connection to devices other than thenetwork resource among the devices included in the first networkenvironment 101 is limited. The print server 5A provides the informationprocessing terminal 5B with a web UI for using the network resources.The web UI provided by the print server 5A enables the informationprocessing terminal 5B to use each network resource without installing adriver corresponding to each network resource.

The information processing terminal 5B is an information processingdevice such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a personal computer(PC) owned by a guest user. The information processing terminal 5Bincludes a web browser capable of displaying the web UI provided by theprint server 5A, and the information processing terminal 5B outputs datato be printed by the liquid discharging device 3 or the MFP 9 to theprint server 5A through the web UI.

The access point 6 is a connection device for connecting a wirelesslocal area network (LAN) device such as the information processingterminal 5B to the print server 5A and the communication network 100through the print server 5A so as to enable data communication.

Devices included in the information processing system 1 are not limitedto the devices described above and any device equipped withcommunication function may be included in the information processingsystem 1. The devices included in the information processing system 1may be, for example, an output device such as a projector (PJ), aninteractive white board (an electronic whiteboard with mutualcommunication capability (IWB)), a digital signage, a heads up display(HUD), and an industrial machine, an imaging device, a sound collectingdevice, a medical device, a network home appliance, an automobile(connected car), a notebook PC, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tabletterminal, a game console, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a digitalcamera, a wearable PC or a desktop PC.

FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a liquid dischargingdevice (inkjet printer). As illustrated in FIG. 2, the liquiddischarging device 3 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 301, aread only memory (ROM) 302, a random access memory (RAM) 303, anon-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) 304, an external deviceconnection interface (I/F) 308, a network I/F 309, and a data bus 310.In addition, the liquid discharging device 3 includes a paper transportunit 311, a sub-scan driver 312, a main-scan driver 313, a carriage 320,and an operation panel 330. Further, the carriage 320 includes a liquiddischarging head 321 and a liquid discharging head driver 322.

The CPU 301 controls an entire operation of the liquid dischargingdevice 3. The ROM 302 stores programs such as an initial program loader(IPL) to boot the CPU 301. The RAM 303 is used as a work area for theCPU 301. The non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) 304 storesvarious data such as a program and retains the various data even whenthe power of the liquid discharging device 3 is shut off. The externaldevice connection I/F 308 is connected to a PC through a universalserial bus (USB) cable or the like and communicates control signals anddata to be printed to the PC. The network I/F 309 is an interface forperforming data communication using the communication network 100 suchas the internet. The data bus 310 is an address bus, a data bus, or thelike for electrically connecting each component such as the CPU 301.

The paper transport unit 311 is, for example, a roller and a motor thatdrives the roller and transports print paper in the sub-scanningdirection along transport path in the liquid discharging device 3. Thesub-scan driver 312 controls the movement of the paper transport unit311 in the sub-scanning direction. The main-scan driver 313 controls themovement of the carriage 320 in the main scanning direction.

The liquid discharging head 321 of the carriage 320 has a plurality ofnozzles for ejecting liquid such as ink and is mounted on the carriage320 such that ejection surface (nozzle surface) faces the printing paperside. The liquid discharging head 321 forms an image by ejecting liquidon the printing paper that is intermittently conveyed in thesub-scanning direction while moving in the main-scanning direction. Theliquid discharging head driver 322 is a driver for controlling the driveof the liquid discharging head 321.

The operation panel 330 includes a touch panel, an alarm lamp, and thelike that display current setting values, selection screens, and thelike and receive inputs from the operator.

The liquid discharging head driver 322 may not be included in thecarriage 320 but may be connected to the bus line outside the carriage320. Further, the main-scan driver 313, the sub-scan driver 312 and theliquid discharging head driver 322 may each have a function implementedby a command from the CPU 301 according to a program.

FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of the PC (server). Here, thehardware configuration of the print server 5A is described.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the server 5 is implemented by a computer andincludes a CPU 501, a ROM 502, a RAM 503, a hard disk (HD) 504, a harddisk drive (HDD) controller 505, a display 506, an external deviceconnection I/F 508, a network I/F 509, a data bus 510, a keyboard 511, apointing device 512, a digital versatile disk-rewritable (DVD-RW) drive514, and a medium IN 516.

The CPU 501 controls entire operation of the server 5. The ROM 502stores a control program such as an IPL to boot the CPU 501. The RAM 503is used as a work area for the CPU 501. The HD 504 stores various datasuch as a control program. The HDD controller 505 controls reading andwriting of various data from and to the HD 504 under control of the CPU501. The display 506 displays various information such as a cursor,menu, window, character, or image. The external device connection I/F508 is an interface for connecting various external devices. Theexternal device in this case is, for example, a USB memory or a printer.The network I/F 509 is an interface for performing data communicationusing the communication network 100. The data bus 510 is an address bus,a data bus, or the like for electrically connecting each component suchas the CPU 501 illustrated in FIG. 3.

The keyboard 511 is an example of input device provided with a pluralityof keys for allowing a user to input characters, numerals, or variousinstructions. The pointing device 512 is an example of an input devicethat allows a user to select or execute a specific instruction, select atarget for processing, or move a cursor being displayed. The DVD-RWdrive 514 reads and writes various data from and to a DVD-RW 513, whichis an example of a removable storage medium. The removable storagemedium is not limited to the DVD-RW and may be a digital versatiledisc-recordable (DVD-R) or the like. The medium I/F 516 controls readingand writing (storing) of data from and to the storage medium 515 such asa flash memory.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of theMFP. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the MFP 9 includes a controller 910, ashort-range communication circuit 920, an engine controller 930, acontrol panel 940, and a network I/F 950.

The controller 910 includes a CPU 901 as a main processor, a systemmemory (MEM-P) 902, a north bridge (NB) 903, a south bridge (SB) 904, anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) 906, a local memory(MEM-C) 907 as a storage unit, an HDD controller 908, and an HD 909 as astorage unit. The NB 903 and the ASIC 906 are connected through anAccelerated Graphics Port (AGP) bus 921.

The CPU 901 is a processor that performs overall control of the MFP 9.The NB 903 connects the CPU 901 with the MEM-P 902, SB 904, and AGP bus921. The NB 903 includes a memory controller for controlling reading orwriting of various data with respect to the MEM-P 902, a PeripheralComponent Interconnect (PCI) master, and an AGP target.

The MEM-P 902 includes a ROM 902 b as a memory that stores program anddata for implementing various functions of the controller 910. The MEM-P902 further includes a RAM 902 a as a memory that deploys the programand data, or as a drawing memory that stores drawing data for printing.The program stored in the ROM 902 b may be stored in anycomputer-readable storage medium, such as a compact disc-read onlymemory (CD-ROM), compact disc-recordable (CD-R), or digital versatiledisc (DVD), in a file format installable or executable by the computer,for distribution.

The SB 904 connects the NB 903 with a peripheral component interconnect(PCI) device or a peripheral device. The ASIC 906 is an integratedcircuit (IC) dedicated to an image processing use, and connects the AGPbus 921, a PCI bus 922, the HDD controller 908, and the MEM-C 907. TheASIC 906 includes a PCI target, an AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) as acentral processor of the ASIC 906, a memory controller for controllingthe MEM-C 907, a plurality of direct memory access controllers (DMACs)capable of converting coordinates of image data with a hardware logic,and a PCI unit that transfers data between a scanner controller 931 anda printer controller 932 through the PCI bus 922. The ASIC 906 may beconnected to a USB interface, or the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers 1394 (IEEE1394) interface.

The MEM-C 907 is a local memory used as a buffer for image data to becopied or code image. The HD 909 is a storage for storing image data,font data used during printing, and forms. The HDD controller 908 readsor writes various data from or to the HD 909 under control of the CPU901. The AGP bus 921 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card,which has been proposed to accelerate graphics processing. Throughdirectly accessing the MEM-P 902 by high-throughput, speed of thegraphics accelerator card is improved.

The short-range communication circuit 920 is provided with a short-rangecommunication antenna 920 a. The short-range communication circuit 920is a communication circuit that communicates in compliance with the nearfield communication (NFC), the Bluetooth (registered trademark) and thelike.

The engine controller 930 includes a scanner controller 931 and aprinter controller 932. The control panel 940 includes a panel display940 a and operation panel 940 b. The panel display 940 a is implementedby, for example, a touch panel that displays current settings or aselection screen and receives a user input. The operation panel 940 bincludes a numeric keypad that receives set values of various imageforming parameters such as image density parameter and a start key thataccepts an instruction for starting copying. The controller 910 controlsentire operation of the MFP 9. For example, the controller 910 controlsdrawing, communication, or user inputs to the control panel 940. Thescanner controller 931 and the printer controller 932 each performsvarious image processing, such as error diffusion or gamma conversion.

In response to an instruction to select a specific application throughthe control panel 940, for example, using a mode switch key, the MFP 9selectively performs a document box function, a copy function, a printfunction, and a facsimile function. When the document box function isselected, the MFP 9 operates in a document box mode to store documentdata. With selection of the copy function, the MFP 9 operates in a copymode. With selection of the print function, the MFP 9 operates in aprint mode. With selection of the facsimile function, the MFP 9 operatesin a facsimile mode.

The network I/F 950 controls communication of data with an externaldevice through the communication network 100. The short-rangecommunication circuit 920 and the network I/F 950 are electricallyconnected to the ASIC 906 through the PCI bus 922.

In the present embodiment, a guest user who is a temporary user ofnetwork resources is redirected (transferred) to another page (temporaryURL 3) corresponding to user identifier (ID) 1 that is a guest account,in response to accessing a dedicated URL 2 associated one-to-one withthe user ID 1. The temporary URL 3 indicating the redirect destinationin this case is a temporary URL. In addition, when the guest useraccesses an invalid temporary URL 3, the guest user is redirected toanother page (URL 4).

In the following description, the user ID for a guest is “user ID 1”(first identification information), a URL dedicated to the user ID 1 is“dedicated URL 2” (second identification information), a URL temporarilygenerated corresponding to the dedicated URL 2 is “temporary URL 3 (3a,3b, . . . )” (third identification information), and a URL of a user IDselection screen page is “ID selection URL 4” (fourth identificationinformation).

For example, the following can be used as the user ID and the value ofeach URL corresponding to the user ID.

-   -   ID1: g601 URL 2: http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/upload/g601    -   URL 3a: http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/upload/g601? key=1234    -   URL 3b: http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/upload/g601? key=5678    -   URL 4: http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/upload/

The user ID 1 is information for identifying a user of a networkresource such as the MFP 9 and indicates a right to use the networkresource. When the user uses resources on the first network environment101 from the second network environment 102, the user is provided with auser ID 1 that is an account for a guest. For example, the user isprovided with an ID card having the user ID 1 and the dedicated URL 2printed thereon. In an integrated circuit (IC) chip embedded in the IDcard, information related to the user ID 1 is recorded by a format thatcan be read by a device included in the information processing system 1.

The dedicated URL 2 is a unique (fixed) URL associated with the user ID1 on a one-to-one basis, but the page indicated by the dedicated URL 2is an empty page with no substance. The dedicated URL 2 functions as anentry point to the temporary URL 3.

The temporary URL 3 is information indicating an actual web pageassociated with the user ID 1 indicating a redirect destination(transfer destination) of a page request for the dedicated URL 2. Thetemporary URL 3 is a temporary (time-limited or temporarily usable) URLat which access to a real web page is disabled at preset timing.

For example, the temporary URL 3 is generated when the use of theservice using the user ID 1 is started and is invalidated by beingdeleted (or updated) at the preset timing. The preset timing is, forexample, when processing of a job created on the web UI page indicatedby the temporary URL 3 is completed, or when the session between theprint server 5A and the information processing terminal 5B through theweb UI is disconnected.

Keys indicated in URL 3a and URL 3b are values updated at the presettiming. The key is updated, for example, every certain time (e.g. every2 hours), at regular time (e.g. midnight), when a particular event (forexample, completion of the above job) occurs, after a certain amount oftime has passed since a particular event occurred, or every time asession between the print server 5A and the information processingterminal 5B through the web UI is updated.

The key is preferably a unique value that cannot be easily guessed. Forexample, the key can be generated using a specific character string,time when the dedicated URL 2 is accessed or date and time informationindicating the generation time of the URL 3, a hash value obtained byapplying a hash function to date and time information, or the like. Byusing a unique key, the URL 3 becomes a unique address as a whole. Byusing a key that is not easily guessed, the URL 3 becomes an addressthat cannot be easily guessed as a whole.

URL 4 is a URL indicating a redirect destination (transfer destination)when a page request is made for invalid (or nonexistent) temporary URL3. For example, URL 4 is information for causing the informationprocessing terminal 5B to display a selection screen for allowing theuser to select a user ID (or a dedicated URL 2 through the user ID). Thepage indicated by URL 4 is not limited to the above description.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of theprint server according to the present embodiment.

The print server 5A includes a main controller 521, a transfer unit 522,a timer 523, a session management unit 524, a job generation unit 525, aUI information generation unit 526, a communication unit 527, and astorage unit 530.

The main controller 521, the transfer unit 522, the timer 523, thesession management unit 524, the job generation unit 525, and thecommunication unit 527 are implemented by the CPU 501 reading a programstored in the ROM 502 and executing the program read into the RAM 503.The storage unit 530 is implemented by the RAM 503 and the HD 504.

The main controller 521 controls each unit included in the print server5A. The main controller 521 gives a command to each unit included in theprint server 5A.

The transfer unit 522 redirects an access (page request) to a specificURL from the information processing terminal 5B to another URL asnecessary.

When there is an access to the dedicated URL 2 from the informationprocessing terminal 5B and there is no valid temporary URL 3, thetransfer unit 522 newly generates a temporary URL 3 and responds to theinformation processing terminal 5B. “Temporary URL 3 is valid”indicates, for example, that temporary URL 3 generated corresponding tothe dedicated URL 2 exists in transfer information 532.

When there is an access to the dedicated URL 2 from the informationprocessing terminal 5B and there is a valid temporary URL 3, thetransfer unit 522 reads the temporary URL 3 from the transferinformation 532 of the storage unit 530 and responds to the informationprocessing terminal 5B.

When the information processing terminal 5B accesses the temporary URL 3that is currently invalid, the transfer unit 522 reads the ID selectionURL 4 from the transfer information 532 of the storage unit 530 andresponds to the information processing terminal 5B. The temporary URL 3is invalid if, for example, the temporary URL 3 does not exist in thetransfer information 532.

The timer 523 counts a time period to indicate the timing for updatingor deleting the temporary URL 3.

The session management unit 524 manages a session with the informationprocessing terminal 5B.

The job generation unit 525 generates a print job to be transmitted tothe MFP 9.

The UI information generation unit 526 generates information (UIinformation, for example, an html file) related to the web UI providedto the information processing terminal 5B. When there is an access tothe currently valid temporary URL 3 from the information processingterminal 5B, the UI information generation unit 526 reads informationfor constructing the web UI from the UI configuration information 531 ofthe storage unit 530, generates UI information, and responds to theinformation processing terminal 5B.

The communication unit 527 transmits and receives information to andfrom each device through the access point 6 and the communicationnetwork 100.

The storage unit 530 stores UI configuration information 531, transferinformation 532, and session information 533.

The UI configuration information 531 is web UI content data provided tothe information processing terminal 5B.

The transfer information 532 is information related to the redirectdestination URL and includes information on the temporary URL and the IDselection URL. The temporary URL is updated or deleted at the presettiming.

The session information 533 is information related to a session betweenthe information processing terminal 5B and the print server 5A. Thesession information 533 is associated with terminal identificationinformation for identifying the information processing terminal 5B, anexpiration date of the session, and the like for each session ID that isidentification information of the session. Information related to asession for which a disconnection request has been received from theinformation processing terminal 5B or a session whose validity periodhas expired is deleted.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating a basic redirect processexecuted by the information processing system. In the sequence diagramillustrated in FIG. 6, the MFP 9 is illustrated as an example of thenetwork resource included in the first network environment 101.

In this sequence diagram, an example of a user accessing the firstnetwork environment 101 using a guest user ID 1 accesses URL 2associated with the ID 1 from the information processing terminal 5B anduse the MFP 9 through the web UI provided from the print server 5A isdescribed.

This sequence diagram illustrates an example where there is no validtemporary URL 3a corresponding to the dedicated URL 2, and the printserver 5A generates and redirects to the temporary URL 3a.

In step S1, the user instructs the information processing terminal 5B toaccess the dedicated URL 2 associated with the user ID 1.

In step S3, the information processing terminal 5B transmits a pagerequest for the dedicated URL 2 to the print server 5A.

In step S5, the transfer unit 522 of the print server 5A determines atype of URL transmitted from the information processing terminal 5B Inthis example, since the URL received from the information processingterminal 5B is the dedicated URL 2 and the temporary URL 3acorresponding to the dedicated URL 2 does not exist in the transferinformation 532, the process of step S7 is executed.

In step S7, the transfer unit 522 of the print server 5A generates atemporary URL 3a corresponding to the dedicated URL 2 and stores thetemporary URL 3a in the transfer information 532.

In step S9, the main controller 521 of the print server 5A returns atemporary URL 3a as a redirect destination URL to the informationprocessing terminal 5B.

In step S11, the information processing terminal 5B transmits a pagerequest for the URL 3a to the print server 5A.

In step S13, the UI information generation unit 526 of the print server5A reads the content to be displayed as the page of the URL 3a from theUI configuration information 531, generates UI information (html), andresponds to the information processing terminal 5B.

When the user uses the MFP 9 for printing an image based on anelectronic file, following process is executed.

In step S15, the user instructs the information processing terminal 5Bto upload the file to be printed by the MFP 9.

In step S17, the information processing terminal 5B transmits the fileto the print server 5A.

In step S19, the job generation unit 525 of the print server 5Agenerates a print job including an ID and password of login informationto the MFP 9. The job generation unit 525 embeds a URL of the web UI(temporary URL 3a) as the ID for identifying the print job and atemporarily generated password as the password in the print job.

In step S21, the job generation unit 525 of the print server 5Atransmits the print job to the MFP 9.

In step S23, the MFP 9 stores the received print job in the HD 909.

In step S25, the MFP 9 responds to the print server 5A that the printjob has been stored as a processing result.

In step S27, the UI information generation unit 526 of the print server5A responds to the information processing terminal 5B with theprocessing result of the print job by the MFP 9. At this time, the UIinformation generation unit 526 generates UI information including logininformation to the MFP 9 and causes the information processing terminal5B to display the UI information.

When the user prints an image of the file transmitted to the printserver 5A on the MFP 9, the user needs to log in to the MFP 9 using theprovided ID card and instruct the MFP 9 to execute the print job. Whenthe print job is executed, the print job is completed.

If the user instructs the information processing terminal 5B to bookmarkthe URL of the web UI (step S29), the information processing terminal 5Bstores the URL 3a in the HD 504 in the own device (step S31).

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a process whenan invalid temporary URL is accessed.

The case where the user accesses an invalid temporary URL through theinformation processing terminal 5B is, for example, the case where thetemporary URL 3a bookmarked in the processing of steps S29 and S31described in FIG. 6 is accessed.

In step S41, the user instructs the information processing terminal 5Bto access the bookmarked temporary URL 3a.

In step S43, the information processing terminal 5B transmits a pagerequest for the temporary URL 3a to the print server 5A.

In step S45, the transfer unit 522 of the print server 5A determines atype of URL transmitted from the information processing terminal 5B. Inthe example in FIG. 7, since the URL received from the informationprocessing terminal 5B is the temporary URL 3a indicating the redirectdestination and the temporary URL 3a is invalid because the temporaryURL 3a does not exist in the transfer information 532, the process ofstep S47 is executed.

In step S47, the transfer unit 522 of the print server 5A reads an IDselection URL 4 from the transfer information 532.

In step S49, the main controller 521 of the print server 5A returns theID selection URL 4 as a redirect destination URL to the informationprocessing terminal 5B.

In step S51, the information processing terminal 5B transmits a pagerequest for the ID selection URL 4 to the print server 5A.

In step S53, the UI information generation unit 526 of the print server5A reads content to be displayed as a page of the ID selection URL 4from the UI configuration information 531 to generate UI information andresponds to the information processing terminal 5B.

As described above, when an invalid temporary URL 3a is accessed, theURL is redirected to another URL (ID selection URL 4), preventing directaccess by a bookmark according to the present embodiment.

The process executed by the print server in steps S3 to S9 and steps S43to S49 is described.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a series of processesexecuted by the print server related to URL determination.

Step S61 corresponds to steps S3 and S43, and steps S63, S65, and S73correspond to steps S5 and S45. Step S67 corresponds to step S7, andstep S75 corresponds to step S47. Step S69 corresponds to steps S9 andS49.

In step S61, the transfer unit 522 acquires the URL of the pagerequested from the information processing terminal 5B.

In step S63, the transfer unit 522 determines the type of the acquiredURL, that is, whether the acquired URL is a dedicated URL or a temporaryURL. When the acquired URL is a dedicated URL, process from step S65 isexecuted. When the acquired URL is a temporary URL, process from stepS73 is executed.

In step S65, the transfer unit 522 determines whether a temporary URLcorresponding to the dedicated URL exists in the transfer information532 of the storage unit 530. When the temporary URL exists, the processfrom step S67 is performed, and when the temporary URL does not exist,the process from step S71 is performed.

In step S67, the transfer unit 522 generates a temporary URLcorresponding to the dedicated URL and stores the temporary URL in thetransfer information 532 of the storage unit 530.

In step S69, the transfer unit 522 responds to the informationprocessing terminal 5B with the generated temporary URL.

In step S71, the transfer unit 522 reads the temporary URL correspondingto the dedicated URL from the transfer information 532 in the storageunit 530. In step S69, the transfer unit 522 responds to the informationprocessing terminal 5B with the read temporary URL.

In step S73, the transfer unit 522 determines whether the acquiredtemporary URL is currently valid. When the temporary URL is valid, theprocess from step S77 is executed, and when the temporary URL isinvalid, the process from S75 is executed.

In step S75, the transfer unit 522 reads the ID selection URL from thetransfer information 532 in the storage unit 530. In step S69, thetransfer unit 522 responds to the information processing terminal 5Bwith the read ID selection URL.

In step S77, the UI information generation unit 526 reads the content tobe displayed as the temporary URL page from the UI configurationinformation 531 in the storage unit 530 and generates UI information.

In step S79, the UI information generation unit 526 returns thegenerated UI information to the information processing terminal 5B.

FIGS. 9A to 9C are flowcharts illustrating an example of a process ofdeleting or updating the temporary URL. Note that the same processing ineach flowchart is denoted by the same step number, and the descriptionthereof is omitted as appropriate.

FIG. 9A illustrates an example of a process of invalidating thetemporary URL by deleting (or updating) after preset time has elapsed.

In step S101, the transfer unit 522 generates the temporary URL 3.

In step S103, the timer 523 starts counting time.

In step S105A, the timer 523 checks whether or not the preset time haselapsed. When the preset time has not elapsed (No), the timer 523continues to count time. When the preset time has elapsed (Yes), theprocess of step S107 is executed.

In step S107, the transfer unit 522 deletes (or updates) the temporaryURL 3.

Instead of using the counted time by the timer 523, a time limit may bedesignated for each temporary URL 3. To designate the time limit for thetemporary URL 3, a method of managing the time limit of the key embeddedin the temporary URL 3 in a database, a method of using a valueindicating the time limit derived using a hash function as the key, andthe like may be considered.

FIG. 9B illustrates an example of invalidating a temporary URL bydeleting (or updating) when a session through the web UI is deleted.

First, step S101 is executed. In step S105B, the session management unit524 confirms whether or not the session between the print server 5A andthe information processing terminal 5B performed through the web UI hasbeen deleted. When the session has not been deleted (No), counting oftime is continued. When the session has been deleted (Yes), the processof step S107 is executed.

In this way, the temporary URL can be invalidated by using deletion ofthe session as a trigger.

FIG. 9C illustrates an example of invalidating a temporary URL bydeleting (or updating) when a print job is completed.

First, step S101 is executed. In step S105C, the main controller 521confirms whether or not a notification indicating that the jobprocessing (print processing) has been completed is received from theMFP 9. When the notification is received (Yes), the process of step S107is executed.

In this way, the temporary URL can be invalidated by using completion ofthe print job as a trigger.

Each of the functions of the described embodiments may be implemented byone or more processing circuits or circuitry. Processing circuitryincludes a programmed processor, as a processor includes circuitry. Aprocessing circuit also includes devices such as an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), digital signal processor (DSP), fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), and conventional circuit componentsarranged to perform the recited functions.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the dedicated URLassociated with the guest user ID on a one-to-one basis is an empty pagewith no substance. According to embodiments of the present disclosure,the URL associated with the user ID and indicating an actual page is thetemporary URL. According to embodiments of the present disclosure,unintended account reuse or unauthorized use can be prevented.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the print server 5Aredirects to another URL as necessary when there is an access (pagerequest) to a specific URL from the information processing terminal 5B,but the print server 5A may execute forward (transfer) processing. Inthis case, when there is a page request to the dedicated URL 2, theprint server 5A makes a transition to the temporary URL 3 and respondsto the information processing terminal 5B with the UI information of thetemporary URL 3.

The information processing apparatus (print server 5A) according toembodiments of the present disclosure includes the transfer unit 522that responds with temporarily usable third identification information(URL 3) indicating a transfer destination of the request, in response toa request (page request) using unique second identification information(dedicated URL 2) associated one-to-one with the first identificationinformation (user ID 1) identifying the user (guest user) of theresource (MFP 9).

The second identification information functions as an entry point to aweb page indicated by the third identification information. The web pageindicated by the third identification information is, for example, a webUI that provides a function for generating a job to be processed by theresource.

The third identification information may be information generated when arequest is received, or information generated in advance and stored inthe storage unit 530 and read from the storage unit when the request isreceived.

The request transfer method may be redirect or forward. In the case ofredirection, the third identification information is information (URL 3)for identifying a web page (web UI). In the case of forward, the thirdidentification information is the content of the web UI (UI information,html) indicated by the URL 3.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, reuse orunauthorized use of the first identification information can beprevented. That is, since the request is transferred to the thirdidentification information, reuse or unauthorized use of the firstidentification information and the fixed second identificationinformation associated with the first identification information can beprevented. In addition, since the third identification information istemporarily used information, it is possible to prevent reuse orunauthorized use of the third identification information associated withthe first identification information.

In the information processing apparatus (print server 5A) according toembodiments of the present disclosure, the transfer unit 522 invalidatesthe third identification information (URL 3) at the preset timing.

Invalidation includes deletion of the third identification informationand update of the third identification information (update from URL 3ato URL 3b).

The preset timing is set to a timing when use of the resource by theguest user is completed, when use of the web page indicated by the thirdidentification information is completed, or the like, and includes, forexample, when the resource (MFP 9) completes the processing of the printjob created on the web page (web UI) indicated by the thirdidentification information, when the preset time has elapsed since theprocessing of the print job was completed, or when the session betweenthe information processing terminal 5B and the information processingapparatus is disconnected. Also, examples of the preset timing includewhen the preset time has elapsed since the third identificationinformation was created, and when preset time of day has passed.

The guest user may reuse the third identification information by storingthe third identification information used in the past in the informationprocessing terminal 5B owned by the guest user. According to embodimentsof the present disclosure, since the third identification information isinvalidated at the preset timing, a request (page request) using thethird identification information that has been valid in the past can beblocked.

In the information processing apparatus (print server 5A) according toembodiments of the present disclosure, the transfer unit 522 returns thefourth identification information (ID selection URL 4), which isinformation for displaying a screen for selecting the firstidentification information (user ID 1) or the second identificationinformation (dedicated URL 2), in response to a request using invalidthird identification information (URL 3).

The guest user may reuse the invalidated third identificationinformation by storing the third identification information used in thepast in the information processing terminal 5B owned by the guest user.According to embodiments of the present disclosure, when a request usinginvalid third identification information is transmitted, it is possibleto follow up so that a request using valid third identificationinformation is transmitted through the web page indicated by the fourthidentification information.

In the information processing apparatus (print server 5A) according toembodiments of the present disclosure, the third identificationinformation (URL 3) is generated using a hash value.

The third identification information is desirably a unique value thatcannot be easily estimated. When the third identification information isgenerated using the hash value as in embodiments of the presentdisclosure, it becomes difficult for a third party different from theregular guest user to guess the third identification information.Therefore, a request (page request) using valid third identificationinformation by a person other than the regular guest user can beblocked, and the security of data held by the regular guest user can beimproved.

In the information processing apparatus (print server 5A) according toembodiments of the present disclosure, when the preset time has elapsedfrom the request using the second identification information (dedicatedURL 2), the transfer unit 522 invalidate third identificationinformation (URL 3). The preset time is set to a time for the guest userto complete the use of the resource, complete use of the web pageindicated by the third identification information, or the like.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, since the thirdidentification information is invalidated when the preset time haselapsed, a request (page request) using the third identificationinformation that has been valid in the past can be blocked.

In the information processing apparatus (print server 5A) according toembodiments of the present disclosure, the transfer unit 522 invalidatesthe third identification information (URL 3) when the preset time of daycomes. The preset time is set to a time when use of the resource by theguest user is deemed to be completed, when use of the web page indicatedby the third identification information is deemed to be completed, orthe like.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, since the thirdidentification information is invalidated at the preset time, a request(page request) using the third identification information that has beenvalid in the past can be blocked.

In the information processing apparatus (print server 5A) according toembodiments of the present disclosure, the transfer unit 522 invalidatesthe third identification information (URL 3) when the preset eventoccurs.

Examples of the preset events may be when the resource (MFP 9) completesthe processing of the print job created on the web page indicated by thethird identification information, when the preset time has elapsed sincethe completion of the processing of the print job, or when the sessionbetween the information processing terminal 5B and the informationprocessing apparatus is disconnected.

When the event is set to an event that occurs when the use of theresource (MFP 9) by the guest user is completed, an event that occurswhen the use of the web page indicated by the third identificationinformation is completed, or the like, the third identificationinformation can substantially be effective for one time provided thatthe third identification information is a unique value. Therefore, thereuse and unauthorized use of the third identification information canbe prevented, and the security of data held by the guest user can beimproved.

The above-described embodiments are illustrative and do not limit thepresent disclosure. Thus, numerous additional modifications andvariations are possible in light of the above teachings. For example,elements and/or features of different illustrative embodiments may becombined with each other and/or substituted for each other within thescope of the present disclosure. Any one of the above-describedoperations may be performed in various other ways, for example, in anorder different from the one described above. Each of the functions ofthe described embodiments may be implemented by one or more processingcircuits or circuitry. Processing circuitry includes a programmedprocessor, as a processor includes circuitry. A processing circuit alsoincludes devices such as an application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), digital signal processor (DSP), field programmable gate array(FPGA) and conventional circuit components arranged to perform therecited functions.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus comprising:circuitry configured to; receive a request using unique secondidentification information that is associated one-to-one with firstidentification information for identifying a user of a resource; andreturn third identification information to be used temporarily,indicating a transfer destination of the request, in response to therequest.
 2. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein thecircuitry is further configured to: invalidate the third identificationinformation at a preset timing.
 3. The information processing apparatusof claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to: returnfourth identification information for displaying a screen for selectingthe second identification information, in response to a request using aninvalid third identification information.
 4. The information processingapparatus of claim 1, wherein the third identification information isgenerated using a hash value.
 5. The information processing apparatus ofclaim 2, wherein the preset timing is when a preset time has elapsedfrom a time when the request using the second identification informationhas received.
 6. The information processing apparatus of claim 2,wherein the preset timing is when a current time reaches a preset time.7. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the presettiming is when a preset event occurs.